Demis Roussos, the celebrated Greek singer, dies aged 68

Greek singer Demis Roussos, who sold more than 60 million records throughout the world, died on January 25 2015 in an Athens hospital at the age of 68.

The Egyptian-born singer, who became popular in the Sixties and Seventies, had been in the private hospital with an undisclosed illness for some time.

Artemios Roussos was born in Alexandria on June 15, 1945 to a Greek father who took the family back to Greece in 1961, following the effects of the Suez Crisis in the mid-Fifties.

Demis started his musical career as a cabaret musician, having learned guitar, trumpet and piano in school. Roussos went on to become a global superstar with his solo hits Forever and Ever, Mr Reason, Goodbye My Love, Goodbye, Velvet Mornings, Lovely Lady Of Arcadia and Quand je t'aime. His theatrical figure, with a flowing dark beard, intense dark eyes and long hair thinning on top, became one of the musical faces of the Seventies.

He was also a member of progressive rock group Aphrodite's Child, joining up with Vangelis Papatanassiou and Loukas Sideras. Their association became one of the biggest musical events of the Seventies.

Roussos was caught up in one of the major news events of the Eighties when on June 14 1985, while he was among 153 people travelling from Athens to Rome, his TWA Flight 847 was hijacked by two Shiite Muslim militiamen. Roussos and his third wife were held as prisoners and he spent his 39th birthday on the plane. He was released unharmed five days later, and at a press conference thanked his captors for giving him a birthday cake.

Roussos also guested on the soundtrack to Blade Runner (1982), with a song entitled Tales Of The Future.

His final album, Demis, was released in 2009 and produced by Marc di Domenico. It had been recorded at the State of the Ark Studios, a studio in London which specialised in retro and vintage recording equipment and gear.

Roussos had long struggled with his weight (at one time he was 319 pounds/145 kilograms), and in latter years suffered ill-health that kept him chair-bound.

One of his last public appearances was in Athens in 2013, when he received a French Legion of Honour medal for his life's work.

For British music lovers, many will cherish the singer's warbling grace on Forever and Ever – and the priceless argument in the Mike Leigh TV drama Abigail's Party over who wants to listen to Demis Roussos.

Demis Roussos performs at Istiqlol Palace in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in 2012 GETTY IMAGES